Channeling the energy of an excited teenager, Wales (pictured) tweeted this morning, “This is going to be wow. I hope Wikipedia will melt phone systems in Washington on Wednesday. Tell everyone you know!”

If passed, SOPA and PIPA would give the government and copyright holders the ability to block websites with content they deem to be infringing or pirated.

During the blackout, which will begin at midnight Eastern Standard Time, the Wikipedia English home page will display a message asking users to reach out to their Congressional representatives. Wales said that the blackout was a “community decision.” The German version of the site will run a banner about SOPA, while other languages “will make their own decisions,” Wales said.

Wikipedia will join the ranks of companies like Reddit who have chosen protest SOPA and PIPA on January 18.